


three is always the answer

by iseemikimouse



Series: On the twelve days of Christmas... [8]
Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: A Bit of Fluff, Alternate Universe - Dragons, I promise, Kisses, M/M, Minho’s father loves him, Nobility, a bit of angst, implied minchanbin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-03
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-13 17:41:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28532355
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iseemikimouse/pseuds/iseemikimouse
Summary: In other words, Minho’s war with the number three.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Series: On the twelve days of Christmas... [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2073474
Comments: 11
Kudos: 26





	three is always the answer

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DiamondWings](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DiamondWings/gifts).



> Hello~ I didn’t post for two days for many reasons but one of them is my headache from hell. I was told to rest so I did and didn’t rest. 
> 
> But anyways. 
> 
> This is for the wonderful and amazing Liza. She’s an amazing person and a wonderful writer so if you’re not reading her stories, please do so! I hope you like this, ma’am. 
> 
> Enjoy everyone!

Minho takes a deep breath when he stands outside the dragon’s lair, his fingers curling against the tree trunk. He’s a little bit nervous as this is the first time he’s been inside, the last Dragon Meeting he was far too young to join in. His father, though, believes him to be just the right age to go by himself and give his report to the king once he was done. 

He doesn’t know how he feels about that, truth be told but his duty is his duty. 

With another deep breath, he walks into the cave, his guards following his steps. He listens to The Rules of the Cave echoing in his mind. 

  1. Don’t say anything until you’ve passed the Point. You’ll know what it is when you see it. 
  2. Make sure to announce yourself and your name. If you don’t then who knows if the dragon might eat you. 
  3. Make sure not to look at the dragon’s eyes. They are not for humans to look at. 
  4. Eat dinner and then leave. Do not linger.



He wonders what the Point is, as the cave around him is just a normal cave or it looks like one. The same stone walls with little flurries of snow coming from the front of the cave. There are large rocks scattered around, some of them home to creatures who peek their heads out to watch the group as they walk. In random places, there’s vegetation Minho is sure that he’s never seen before and on those leaves are patches of snow. 

Minho furrows his brows. 

Wait. 

The snow is coming from  _ inside _ the cave. Not from the direction they’re coming from. How... odd. He feels the temperature beginning to drop, his fingers curling against the hilt of his sword are becoming stiff. 

Just what is going on? 

The deeper Minho walks into the cave, the colder it gets, which makes very little sense to him. Yes there’s barely any light aside from the random skylights in the cave and the lanterns that his guards are carrying, so why is it colder? Is it really because o- 

That’s why. 

Minho’s jaw drops to the ground. He blinks a couple of times like he’s trying to comprehend what it is he’s looking at because this isn’t possible. 

What stands in front of Minho is a massive cavern that’s most likely fifty times larger than the kingdom. Birds fly around at the top of the cave where a massive magic crystal sits. Around the crystal is a circular hole that shows the true sky where there are snow clouds. The falling snow covers dead and alive trees furthering making the inside look more and more like a winter wonderland. 

“Your grace,” comes a voice behind him, forcing him out of his trance. 

He clears his throat. “Hello. I am Lee Minho, son of the Duke of Rin. I have come in accordance with the Dragon Papers for our ten year gathering.” 

Minho’s voice booms across the cavern much louder than he thought he had spoken. He swallows and waits for the thudding of dragon wings only to hear nothing. It’s as silent as before which uneases him a bit. This isn’t what he imagined this place to be like. 

A noise comes from the trees near the group and a person jumps down. The person stands straight and looks them up and down before smiling, his fangs poking his gums. 

Minho is startled at the man who is a little shorter than he is with blond hair, serpentine eyes (something bubbles in Minho’s stomach), and horns curling out from his head. He wears black pants tucked into black boots. His black top reaches midthigh and his left arm is covered in a wrist length pauldron, an emblem of twin dragons on his outer shoulder. His other arm is left bare causing Minho to wonder if this person (?) dragon (?) is cold or not. 

“Come,” the man says. “Our elder is waiting for you.”

He doesn’t say anything else, only turning on his heel and leading them further in. 

Minho can only stare after the creature (he thinks, it might be wrong though) only to be pushed by his men to continue forward. 

The forest inside of the cavern looks and feels like every forest Minho has been into, only there a couple of plants that look much like the ones inside of the cave. A couple of foxes watch them as they walk by but they make no move. They just watch them with their black eyes, almost like they’re waiting for some kind of attack. The creature (he doesn’t like this word but it’s the only thing his mind can think of at the moment) clicks his tongue and the foxes are gone. 

He leads the group to a massive clearing where there houses surrounding a nest. Other creatures (again with this hideous word) with curled horns watch them with different expressions. Some look welcoming at their presence while others look hostile and ready to bear their teeth. Minho looks away and to the middle of the nest where an actual dragon is laying in the middle, watching as Minho takes everything in.

At the sight of large blue eyes watching him, Minho looks away, the rule of not looking the dragons in the eyes smacking him with its presence. Instead he looks to the dragon’s actual body, white scales almost blending in the snow. A chuckle fills the cavern. 

“Welcome to my humble home,” says the dragon. “My name is Khun. It is nice to meet the son of the Duke who watches over us.”

Minho’s body tells him to bow and he does. “The pleasure is mine, great one.”

Another chuckle. “I trust the journey here hasn’t been treacherous? It’s an interesting season, winter.”

“Our journey was fine,” Minho says with a smile. “I thank you for inquiring.” 

The dragon hums. “Very well. Chan, please lead the Lee’s into the house. I will join shortly.” 

Minho’s eyes drift towards the dragon man (maybe that’s better) who brought him. He smiles at Minho when their eyes meet. “Yes grandfather,” he says. “This way.”

The dragon man keeps his gaze on Minho as he leads them through the village. He’s silent until they reach the house, his smiling blinding when he locks eyes with Minho. (Something inside Minho warms up at the gaze. It feels intense, like a feeling he can’t shake off very well. He tries to push it back, but he can’t. The feeling stays at the front of his mind and body causing him to shiver. He doesn’t know if Chan’s chuckle is because of that.) 

The inside of the house is beautiful in its decorations of red and gold. Tapestries hang from walls depicting stories Minho isn’t aware of. Busts of dragons and unfamiliar faces like a single wall while a carefully decorated tree stands proudly in the corner. 

Minho’s attention turns to the tree and he stops to look at it, not paying attention to the rest of his party as they walk further into the house. He’s about to follow them, when he hears footsteps and sees Chan who is looking at the tree. 

“It’s a winter tree,” Chan says, looking at Minho before looking back to it. “We decorate it with our hopes and wishes with the new year. At the end of the winter season, we burn the trees so our wishes float up with the smoke and can be heard by our goddesses. I heard that humans give presents during this time?” 

Minho nods as he walks toward the winter tree to see the ornaments hanging off branches. Each piece is spectacularly colored and crafted like the person who created it spent a copious amount of time perfecting each one. 

“Because winter is a cold season,” Minho begins, “we tend to spend more time indoors and with our families. Winter is meant to be with family where we share our travels and important details of our lives from the last time we saw each other. A gathering of sorts, I suppose.” 

Minho looks away from the tree and Chan who stares at him. 

“Do you not spend time with your family throughout the year?” He asks. 

“We do but everyone is busy with their lives. So our more informal gatherings have less people and fewer stories to be told.”

“What an odd concept.”

Minho chuckles. “I suppose it is.” He licks his lips, his eyes drifting back towards the tree. “You have a very beautiful tree.” 

“Thank you.” 

It’s when he looks back at Chan, does the strange feeling in Minho’s gut grow stronger. He realizes he getting closer to the dragon man when the feeling in his gut grows with much more intensity. They bloom hotter, like a sparkle to kindling and he’s entranced. Chan’s lips curve into a smile. 

“Tell me Lee Minho of the duchy Rin, have you ever heard of mistletoe?” 

“Mistletoe?” 

Chan’s smile grows a little wider. “I’ll take that as a no. You see, we have a tradition here, that if two people step under mistletoe during the season of winter, they must kiss. It’s an old wives tale of a lost winter love.”

“Oh?”

The feeling grows hotter the longer that Minho looks into Chan’s eyes when the theIs rules slaps him in the face. Minho lowers his eyes in shock. He’s been looking into Chan’s eyes the entire time when he wasn’t supposed to be. A soft chuckle comes from Chan as Minho figures everything out. He probably knew what was happening and didn’t say anything. Minho blinks a couple of times as he tries to raise an apology but Chan shakes his head. 

“Don’t fret,” Chan says. “It is your first time in dragon’s territory. You did well in front of my grandfather and the others, however. You will be safe.” 

Gentle fingers raise Minho’s chin, his eyes flickering to serpentine eyes. He swallows. 

“What about mistletoe?” Minho asks and Chan smiles. He points up and sure enough they’re standing under a tiny bush of leaves with red and white berries. 

“This is mistletoe,” Chan says. 

Minho stares at the plant before looking at Chan and glancing down at his mouth. He wonders for a few seconds what it would be like to fulfill the tradition but he pushes the thought away. He’s not a dragon and this isn’t his tradition. Besides, he should be having thoughts like these. 

Chan’s lips tug at the corners. “May I?” 

Minho’s eyes flick to Chan’s. 

Oh. 

He nods and Chan grins. 

Minho’s eyes flutter shut when Chan’s lips press against his and the pool of heat in his stomach explodes. He feels as if he’s drifting on a cloud away from all of his problems and at the same time, like he can tackle them all at once. He doesn’t understand what’s happening, only that it’s happening. 

Chan pulls away and just smiles. He grabs Minho’s hand and pulls him to where everyone else is. His guards look at him with wide eyes, one of them shakes his head and sighs. 

“I will inform the duke about the proposal,” he says. “He will be here to discuss the dates of the wedding.” 

Minho’s mind stills. 

What? 

_ WHAT _ ? 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


(Minho’s father sighs as he rubs his hands over his face the next day. He looks to his son who has red cheeks and a look of confusion in his eyes. It takes a moment before his sighs turn to giggles and giggles into laughter. 

Maybe he should have gone with him to properly explain why Minho had gone off to the dragons. It would have been better but maybe this way was easier. 

“Those rules,” the Duke of Rin says, “are there so no one gets roped into marriage without them knowing. But I suppose we should have told you why those rules were there in the first place.” 

“Father! This is no laughing matter! I’m already engaged to Marquis Seo’s son!”

His father laughs a little harder. He should explain but the situation is too funny for him. It’s not a bad situation, just an odd one. But the marquis was right. “It’s alright. Everything will work out in the long run.” 

“Father!”

He glances at Minho who looks red in the face. Shame and another emotion the duke can’t quite pin flash across his son’s face. He feels a twinge of guilt for laughing but...

“Besides, those rumors of Marquis Seo’s son loving another is true. I just didn’t know how they were going to tell you. I suppose this works.”

Minho’s hands curl at his sides. He’s never liked those rumors. “What?” 

_ If the goddesses wish for Minho and Changbin to marry then they will. The goddesses will bless their marriage how they see fit _ . That’s what Marquis Seo said. 

(Minho isn’t following why any of this is funny. But only did he kiss another person when he was already engaged, his fiancé is in love with someone else? How is this funny?)

“Minho,” the duke giggles. “You’re set to marry both Seo Changbin and Bang Chan, two men who already love each other.” 

Minho blinks.

( _ WHAT _ !?)

The goddesses did bless Minho. They blessed him with not one but two husbands. The Duke of Rin finally stops laughing at the situation and pats his son’s shoulder. They have a lot of planning to do.) 

**Author's Note:**

> twt: @iseemikimouse


End file.
